


Monster Summer Mash

by AnonJ



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Ambassador Papyrus, Flowey has issues, Gen, Post-Undertale Pacifist Route, Slight Toriel-bashing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-28
Updated: 2018-06-03
Packaged: 2019-05-14 02:07:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14760588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnonJ/pseuds/AnonJ
Summary: A series of up to 30 independent prompt fills that may or may not take place in the same universe. Each chapter can be read separately.





	1. Summer Nights and Starlight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Papyrus decides to take his brother to gaze at stars

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings at the bottom of the chapter

Papyrus had decided, long before he had ever wanted to be a royal guard, not to focus on the stars.

 

Obviously, he never would have told that to Sans! His brother had loved hearing about the stars, and used to go on and on about how he would be an astronaut one day. (Papyrus made a mental note to introduce the various thaumic sciences to NASA, and maybe wonder if they would accept monsters on the ISS. Perhaps they could start off slow, with, say… a skeleton monster who liked physics and applied thaumology?) However, Papyrus had never seen the appeal. If anything, he had been interested in geology! Why would he focus on a sky he might not ever have seen, when there were all those pretty rocks in waterfall that sparkled when his magic shone against them?

 

Of course, that had been before Frisk had came and the barrier had broken. Now they were all on the surface! Now Papyrus could see the sky! Rainbows! Sunrises and sunsets! Moon cycles and solar eclipses and…

 

And he still didn’t get what was so interesting about stars!!! The sky changed _colors_ in the morning and evening; what was so fascinating about a few specks of white in the dark of night? Papyrus had confided his lack of interest to Flowey, who had asked Asgore what was so great about the stars that all the other monsters loved them. Asgore had then talked to Flowey and Frisk about the good old days when the skies were so full of stars you could make out galaxies, and Frisk had responded by introducing everyone to the concept of “light pollution.”

 

Which led to today, with Papyrus borrowing Asgore’s truck to drive a snoozing Sans and a bed full of camping supplies out into the desert.

 

Alphys and Undyne had gone out stargazing last week, and according to Undyne it was “the best thing ever, you HAVE to try it! Even Alphys thought it was cool, and she’s a huge shut-in! We could have watched the stars all night, if we hadn’t-” Undyne had stopped abruptly then, telling Papyrus more than he wanted to know, before quickly changing the subject. “Anyways, you said your brother was a HUGE NERD about space, why not go stargazing together?”

 

Papyrus still hadn’t been convinced that the hype was worth it, but the thought of the look on Sans’ face as he saw the stars had finally convinced him. This would be the perfect way to rekindle his brother’s passions..!

 

...Or shatter them forever. Sans had always been so hyped about the idea of stars, flaming balls of gas from so far away and yet so beautiful; how could reality possibly live up to the ideal? Papyrus was no stranger to realities falling short of paradise, what with having to navigate and predict the scuffles between human and monster culture as a part of his job. Sometimes it was better to let your dreams be dreams! If he brought Sans out here to stargaze only to see his brother’s face fall as he realized that stars really weren’t that great, then...

 

Then…

 

Papyrus abruptly realized he wasn’t paying attention to the road, and pulled over. Not paying attention while driving was bad news! And usually ended up on the news too! And it was almost sunset anyways, so it was probably a good idea to go deeper into the desert and away from the highway; that is, once his bones would cooperate and stop rattling so much!!!

 

“oh hey, we’ve stopped. are we- bro?”

 

Papyrus yelped in surprise as his brother’s voice came from the backseat. “EVERYTHING IS EXTREMELY FINE, NO PROBLEMS HERE!!!”

 

“bro.”

 

Papyrus refused to look in the rearview mirror. If he didn’t acknowledge the look on his brother’s face, then he didn’t have to answer the implied question! “NO, WE ARE NOT THERE YET, I AM SIMPLY TAKING A LITTLE… PAUSE BEFORE I CONTINUE. NOW HUSH, I NEED TO CONCENTRATE.” With the topic sufficiently avoided, Papyrus shifted gears and drove off the highway completely, and onto the dry desert terrain.

 

Sans stared in surprise as the truck headed further away from the highway. “uh... bro? the road is the other way.”

 

“I KNOW WHICH WAY THE ROAD IS, SANS. NOW _HUSH._ ”

 

Sans managed to keep silent for about seven minutes before finally giving in to the inevitable. “so, we’re just gonna keep _trucking_ ahead, are we?”

 

 _“SANS IF I HEAR ONE MORE WORD OUT OF YOU I SWEAR I WILL TURN THIS CAR AROUND,”_ Papyrus gritted out, but a part of him relaxed. Sans wouldn’t be able to resist such an obvious opening, and that would give Papyrus the excuse he needed to cancel this whole excursion! It’s not like either of them would be missing much, it was just _stars!_

 

Sans, naturally, took the bait. “one more word-”

 

Papyrus started turning.

 

“wha- hey, wait bro, i was just kidding!”

 

“TOO LATE, SANS. I GAVE YOU YOUR CHANCE BUT YOU THREW IT AWAY.” Still, Papyrus hesitated. Sans did seem eager to continue the “SURPRISE BROTHERLY OUTING” Papyrus had planned...

 

“it was just a joke! come on, i’ll be silent the rest of the trip, i promise!”

 

Papyrus slammed the brakes.

 

_“gah!”_

 

Sans didn’t make promises.

 

_(“uh, bro..?”)_

 

Sans didn’t _make_ promises. Not casually.

 

 _(“what’s_ rattling your bones _?”)_

 

Sans didn’t make promises except for things that were important to him which meant _this trip_ was important to him _(_ “ _paps?_ ” _)_ even though he didn’t even know what they were going to do but he still really wanted to do this and Papyrus was going to cancel something that Sans really _(“Papyrus?”)_ hoped for but if he kept going it would destroy his _(“Papyrus. Talk to me.”)_ dreams and how can he make that choice how can he decide between Sans’ hopes or dreams or hopes or dreams or-

 

“Papyrus. Hey. Look at me.”

 

Papyrus blinked in surprise, and let out a sudden sob as his body informed him that he had been hyperventilating.

 

“you stopped the car, that’s good. lets you _ride out_ something else,” Sans said soothingly from the front seat, having relocated himself while Papyrus was… busy.

 

“TH-THAT PUN WA-AS AWF-F-FUL.” Papyrus choked out.

 

“yeah, but it’s calming you down, isn’t it?”

 

“IT IS AND I HA-HATE IT!” Papyrus let out another hitching breath, and leaned against the steering wheel. He didn’t _really_ hate it, but it had become something of a running joke between the brothers and Papyrus was too exhausted to try and come up with a different response.

 

“just keep breathing, bro, you’re doing fine,” Sans continued. Papyrus didn’t often break down, but when he did he usually broke down _hard_ , so Sans had experience in comforting Papyrus. He still wasn’t sure if it was more or less experience than he’d like. On one hand, he hated when Papyrus broke down like this, but on the other hand, maybe if Sans could help him more before it became too much, Papyrus would break down less. “ya want me to pet your skull?”

 

“UH-HUH,” Papyrus mumbled into the steering wheel, closing his eyes as Sans made good on his offer. They stayed like that for a couple minutes, silent except for Papyrus’ slowly evening breaths and the scratches of bone on bone.

 

“hey, papyrus…” Sans hesitantly broke the silence, “do you want to tell me what’s wrong?”

 

Papyrus stiffened. He really didn’t. He really, _really_ didn’t. The mere _thought_ of destroying his brother’s passions in such a way had sent him spiraling into a panic attack, of _course_ he couldn’t tell Sans what’s wrong! Even if the thought of sharing his burdens with his brother sent a desperate ache in his soul, his brother had his own problems to deal with! So really, why would he ever say “I-WAS-GOING-TO-TAKE-YOU-STARGAZING-BUT-STARS-ARE-SO-OVERHYPED-WHAT-IF-YOU-REALIZED-THAT-AND-NEVER-GOT-PASSIONATE-ABOUT-ANYTHING-AGAIN-!”

 

Papyrus slammed his hand over his mouth.

 

“oh.” Sans paused, going over what his brother just said. “is this your ‘everything has to be perfect’ thing?”

 

“NNN…”

 

“because, you know it doesn’t matter that much to me, right? yeah, stargazing sounds super cool, and you’re the coolest for taking me out here to do it, but it’s not going to be ruined if there’s, i dunno, clouds or anything. just getting to spend some time as a family makes the trip worth it.”

 

“BUT- BUT WHAT IF IT’S NOT CLOUDS?” Papyrus asked, “WHAT IF THE STARS THEMSELVES AREN’T ACTUALLY THAT INTERESTING TO GAZE AT?”

 

“easy. i’ll shoot off some _stellar_ puns, eat an entire bag of marshmallows, and fall asleep.”

 

“SANS! WE DON’T EVEN _HAVE_ MARSHMALLOWS!”

 

Sans just grinned. “so, does this mean we’re gonna continue?”

 

Papyrus smiled. “YES, WE ARE. I _DO_ NEED TO CONCENTRATE, THOUGH, SINCE WE AREN’T ON THE ROAD.”

 

“alright. you won’t hear another _peep_ out of me.”

 

“THANK YOU- _SANS! NO MORE PUNS!”_

 

“come on bro, don’t be so _mallow_ dramatic.”

 

“SANS!!!!”

* * *

 

Once Papyrus found a good camping site that was sufficiently away from the road, he set up the tent, and then he and Sans had dinner. If Papyrus was by himself, he would have continued sitting outside to watch the sky change colors, but Sans had convinced him to wait inside the tent until the sun was fully down so that when they went outside they could get the full effect of the sky all at once.

 

Papyrus had gone along with Sans’ idea. This trip was for his benefit, after all.

 

“so she’s just eating the jar of mayo- like, just eating it straight out of the jar- when all of a sudden she asks me if i’ve ever felt like there’s something that was supposed to happen, but didn’t,” Sans continued, halfway through telling a story about a human he met at _Grillby’s_. “so i pick myself up off the floor, because philosophy is my _jam_ , and go ‘yeah?’ and she’s like ‘once, i was walking home during this huge thunderstorm, when out of nowhere i got the urge to check some nearby dumpsters. there wasn’t even anything there, but i could have _sworn_ that i would have found someone hiding! weird, right?’ and i was like ‘yeah that’s weird,’ and she said ‘wouldn’t it be super cool if somewhere there was a [world](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11574930/chapters/26008686) where i met my best friend by those dumpsters?’ and then we talked about chaos and multiverse theories for a while.”

 

“HOW INTERESTING! SOUNDS LIKE YOU MADE A NEW FRIEND, BROTHER!”

 

“eh, maybe,” Sans shrugged. “hey, it’s pretty dark out there. think it’s finally time to go stargazing?”

 

Papyrus stiffened a bit, before forcing himself to relax. “IF YOU SAY SO!”

 

“alright then. close our eyes, and step outside on the count of three?”

 

“THAT SOUNDS LIKE A PLA-”

 

“wait, hang on...”

 

Papyrus paused, and turned to look back at Sans, who looked more excited than usual. “YES?”

 

“wouldn’t it be super cool if we counted backwards from ten, like a spaceship launch?”

 

Papyrus couldn’t decide whether he wanted to laugh or cry. Even if Sans would enjoy tonight no matter what... “THAT SOUNDS INTERESTING! LET’S DO IT!” Well, if this was the last night his brother would like space, Papyrus wouldn’t deny him this. “TEN…”

 

“nine…” Sans closed his eyes and grinned.

 

“EIGHT...” Papyrus grabbed his brother’s hand and turned towards the tent door.

 

“seven…” Sans entwined his phalanges with his brothers’ and squeezed.

 

“SIX.” Papyrus grabbed the tent zipper with his other hand and closed his eyes.

 

“five..!” Sans’ voice shook with excitement as he heard the tent door unzipping.

 

“FOUR!” Papyrus carefully made his way out of the tent without letting go of his brother or opening his eyes.

 

“three!” Sans felt himself being gently pulled by Papyrus out into the cool desert night.

 

“TWO!” Papyrus stopped, eyes still shut, and let go of his brother’s hand.

 

“one!” Sans tilted his head up.

 

Together, they opened their eyes.

 

 _‘OH,’_ Papyrus thought, ‘ _MAYBE THE STARS REALLY DO DESERVE THEIR HYPE._ ’

 

Sans was staring at the sky with awe and wonder, more at ease than Papyrus had ever seen him. Papyrus had no doubt that Sans’ jaw would have dropped if it wasn’t fused to the rest of his skull.

 

Satisfied that his brother was enjoying the view, Papyrus looked up to see it himself.

 

It was…

 

Well…

 

It definitely was! It sure did exist! Or rather, it had existed several hundred years ago and they were only seeing it now? His brother had told him that little factoid earlier. In any case, it definitely was a view! Certainly a thing he was able to look at, if there wasn’t anything else to catch his attention!

 

“so, what do you think?” Sans’ voice was barely a whisper, “is the view everything you hoped for?”

 

“IT’S PERFECT,” Papyrus replied, gazing at the blissful look on his brother’s face. After all, Papyrus was never one to focus on the stars.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warnings for a panic attack and a minor existential crisis (unrelated).
> 
> Also, this chapter was brought to you by Thunderstruck, which is great and you can read it here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11574930/chapters/26008686


	2. Ignite the Sky!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flowey hides in the soil from the bombs and gunshots going off around him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings at the end of the chapter

Flowey knew what gunshots sounded like.

 

It was kind of a hard sound to forget, in the same way a bee buzzing near you was kind of hard to ignore.

 

Asriel had been stung by a bee, once, when playing in his dad’s garden. He had heard the buzzing and tried to swat it. Later, he cried and cried while his mom took the stinger out.

 

Chara had told him that he was stupid. Bee stings could hurt, but they wouldn’t kill you, and the bees wouldn’t sting if you left them alone anyways. Chara was full of a lot of facts about bees, how they would defend their hives but leave you alone if you made your way in, because they would assume you belonged there, and how if you walked calmly away from a bee it would stop bothering you. There were lots of things about bees that Chara thought interesting.

 

Asriel never realized until too late that it was because bees were the opposite of humans in Chara’s mind.

 

The only thing similar about bees and humans was the pain when they stung, but he hadn’t lived long enough to know if he would cry and cry while his mom took the bullets out.

 

So yeah, Flowey knew what gunshots sounded like, which was why he was currently hiding under the soil.

 

[ _Ta-tap scrape tap. Tap scrape tap. Tap tap scrape. Scrape scrape scrape, scrape tap scrape._ ](https://morsecode.scphillips.com/translator.html)

 

Flowey hesitated a moment, before popping out of the ground. There, just as he thought, was Papyrus, looking at him with worry.

 

“I’m FIN-”

 

**BANG.**

 

Flowey yelped and dove back underground.

 

_Ta-tap scrape. Tap scrape scrape, tap scrape, scrape tap, scrape. Ta-tap scrape scrape scrape. Scrape scrape tap, scrape scrape scrape. Ta-tap, scrape tap._

 

Flowey waited a moment, listening as the gunshots continued. If they _were_ attacking monsters, then Papyrus wouldn’t have the time to be standing around kicking dirt. It was probably safe to pop out.

 

If he wanted to.

 

Which he didn’t.

 

In response, he poked some vines out. Two short, then two tall. Short-short-tall short, short short, tall short, short.

 

_Scrape scrape scrape, scrape tap scrape. THWUMP. _

 

Flowey would have sighed if he wasn’t surrounded by soil. He should have known Papyrus would decide to sit and wait for him to come up again. He _could_ move away, leaving Papyrus waiting for hours for him to come out...

 

~~( _But Nobody Came_ ) ~~

 

...But that would leave him vulnerable if the shooters decided to come this way, because Papyrus was (loyal) _stupid_ and wouldn’t leave unless he thought Flowey was truly fine. And if Papyrus got killed, then Frisk would reset and Flowey wouldn’t remember what had happened, and then he’d have to rely on what Frisk had _said_ had happened! Again!

 

Flowey heard another bang above him and tensed. Going inside probably wouldn’t be such a bad idea after all, since Papyrus couldn’t hide in the soil like he could. He sent another vine up to jab Papyrus’s shoulder, wrapped it around the bone, and then pulled himself up before he could second guess himself.

 

**BANG.**

 

It was loud, it was _very loud!_ Flowey knew Papyrus was saying something, but it was drowned out by the shouts and screams surrounding him, and the air whipping as Papyrus rushed to get them both inside. Even though it was night, the sky was still lighter than the pitch black of the earth, but before he could blink away the wind and force his eyes to adjust, there was a flash of bright light. The humans were bombing them! He _knew_ this was a bad idea, he knew it!

 

Suddenly, the noise got muffled abruptly with a door slam. Flowey was still blinking spots out of his eyes, but he could hear the _thump-thump-thump_ as Papyrus hurried up the stairs. Within a few moments, Flowey heard a door click shut as the noise outside muffled further.

 

“We’re In My Closet Now, Flowey. Are You Feeling Better?” Papyrus asked in his version of a whisper.

 

“Feeling better? Please, I was always fine, I just knew that if I didn’t allow you to do this then you’d wait for me until you got yourself full of bullets, like an IDIOT.” Flowey said, defensive.

 

“BULLETS?” Though Flowey couldn’t see the skeleton’s face, he knew Papyrus well enough to tell that the skeleton was frowning in confusion. “I’M AFRAID I DON’T UNDERSTAND.”

 

“Are you _deaf?_ ” Flowey asked in disbelief, “Couldn’t you hear the battle going on around us?! Humans were shooting their guns, and monsters were screaming, and didn’t you see the light of that big bomb!?”

 

“GUNS? _BOMB?_ THERE WASN’T ANY- OH.” Papyrus’s voice stopped with the realization, before sliding to a more comforting tone. “OH FLOWEY, THOSE WERE JUST THE FIREWORKS. REMEMBER? FRISK SAID THERE WAS GOING TO BE A FIREWORKS DISPLAY TO CELEBRATE THOSE NEW LAWS I HELPED PASS. YOU KNOW, THE ONES GIVING MONSTERS FULL RIGHTS. WE’RE NOT UNDER ATTACK, FLOWEY, IT’S OK. EVERYONE’S FINE.”

 

“I KNOW what Frisk said,” Flowey yelled, “they said fireworks displays were the human’s version of showing off with magic! Those were gunshots, I know what gunshots sound like, I’ve HEARD THEM!!” Flowey spoke rapidly, ignoring the liquid trailing down his face and petals. That was just dew, he wasn’t crying! He stiffened as he heard another muffled boom. In the closet, it could have been just another thunderstorm, if he couldn’t hear the muffled screams following it.

 

“TONIGHT MUST HAVE BEEN TERRIFYING FOR YOU,” Papyrus murmured, “HIDING IN THE SOIL WHILE FOR ALL YOU KNEW, EVERYONE WAS UNDER ATTACK. I’M REALLY SORRY, FLOWEY. I TRIED TO MAKE SURE EVERYONE KNEW WHAT THE FIREWORKS WOULD BE LIKE, BUT I MUST HAVE FAILED.”

 

Flowey paused. Another gunshot- firework?- happened, complete with screams afterwards, but now that he was listening for it, he could hear cheers too. Like that time he watched as Frisk, Undyne, Papyrus, and the smiley trashbag rode the roller coaster. Everyone was screaming then too, but it was because they were having fun. Except for Sans, who threw up as soon as the ride was over. That was hilarious.

 

“FLOWEY?” Papyrus’ voice pulled Flowey out of his memories. “DO YOU WANT TO STAY IN HERE?”

 

Flowey thought for a moment. “I want to go to the kitchen,” he replied. “If there are really fireworks, then I can just watch them through the windows, right?”

 

Papyrus beamed. It was still too dark to see in the closet, of course, but Flowey _knew_ that Papyrus was beaming. “OF COURSE! I CAN EVEN MAKE YOU SOME JUICE IF YOU WANT!”

 

Papyrus got up, and opened the closet door. Immediately, the sounds outside became louder, but this time Flowey could hear the excitement between the booming, the thumping of stairs, and the clattering of pots and pans. “DO YOU WANT TO GO INTO THE WINDOWSILL PLANTER, OR DO YOU WANT ME TO SET UP YOUR POT? YOU COULD ALSO STAY ON MY SHOULDER IF YOU WANT!” Papyrus exclaimed, pulling out the blender.

 

“I’m fine where I am. And I don’t want juice, Papyrus, just sit somewhere where I can look out the window!” Flowey said.

 

“OH, ALRIGHT!” said Papyrus, grabbing a seat at the kitchen table. They didn’t have long to wait before Flowey saw a trail of light rising into the sky.

 

“ _That’s_ a firework? I thought-”

 

**BOOM.**

 

The light exploded into a shower of colors. Blue, pink, red- each falling drop was some color that somehow seemed deeper than any color he’d ever seen before! Forget _stars_ , why had Chara never told him about _this?_

 

“Papyrus,” Flowey began, his eyes wide and sparkling, “can we go outside?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Flowers with PTSD, flashback to Asriel's death, Fireworks
> 
> Full Prompt: _Ignite the sky! It’s Fireworks!_


	3. Lemonade Stand

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Read on tumblr here: http://audaciousanonj.tumblr.com/post/174443984156/ao3-its-a-hot-summer-day-and-what-better-way

 

It’s a hot summer day, and what better way to cool off then a day at the lake?

 

Sans, always the comedic entrepreneur, has set up a little lemonade stand! But, what’s this? There’s still snow on the roof from Snowdin! How lazy can a skeleton be, not cleaning off his old sentry station for the summer? At least _someone_ was helpful enough to decorate it with vines and flowers! I wonder who we have to thank? It was probably that very famous monster ambassador and his flowery best friend.

 

And look, there they are in the corner! It’s a casual day out with friends, so Papyrus is wearing his casual clothes- a pretty red skirt and a blue crop top! He and Flowey are sharing a glass of lemonade over a nice friendly conversation, which is absolutely _not_ about planning an upcoming trick on Toriel. Why are you still focusing on them, dear reader, there is absolutely nothing of interest being discussed! Do not think on this further.

 

Why not go to the west a bit, where Asgore is? He’s standing all by himself with a glass of lemonade, surely he could use the company! He’s been much more relaxed since the barrier was broken, and his kingly duties have lessened with the help of a certain very capable ambassador. In fact, Asgore doesn’t even wear his crown that often anymore! It is always good to have a friend to share a burden, and Toriel certainly would be no help, since she wants to focus solely on running her school. She is, of course, entitled to this choice, just as Papyrus and Flowey are entitled to their choices. Moving on!

 

Frisk is standing over by Sans’ lemonade station, drinking a glass of lemonade. Amazingly, they manage to do so without disturbing the five other glasses on their head! It looks like Sans is stacking things on people’s heads again… Look, Monster Kid has lemonade on their head too! I wonder how they’re going to get those down? Hopefully the glasses won’t take a tumble if they trip! Five glasses is too much to have at one time anyways. Even Onionsan is only holding two glasses! Papyrus and Flowey certainly seem content sharing a glass between them… Oh look, there’s Undyne and Alphys!

 

Alphys is sitting on the dock (a glass of lemonade beside her) and playing with her phone, but that doesn’t stop her from looking at her girlfriend! Undyne’s happy to cool off in the water, but she makes sure to keep the rim of her glass above the surface! Despite their differences, they enjoy the time they spend together! After all, relationships are about compromise and affection, and Flowey knows that even two monsters of the same species might not be able to work it out! Not that he’s talking about it with Papyrus or anything.

 

In the middle of the lake, there is a bird. Back underground, it would carry you over a disproportionately small gap, but now it just carries a glass of lemonade. Cherish this bird. No, cherish it harder!!! Don’t even _think_ about any non-existent japing plans being made by flowers and skeletons, you should focus purely on cherishing this bird!!!

 

* * *

 

Onions and children, girlfriends and birds, former kings and business owners and ambassadors and flowers...

 

It’s a hot summer day, and what better way to cool off then a day at the lake with a glass of lemonade?


	4. Let’s explore the outdoors!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk's mom lets them go on an adventure

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is pretty short, but I think it's good.

Today, Frisk was going to go exploring!

 

They had asked their momma, and she agreed that it would be fine to go camping for a bit. Frisk was so excited! Normally, they didn’t get to do things like that. Momma always worried that they would get hurt or dirty if they ventured out in the woods, and didn’t even let them go backyard camping for fear of them getting sick.

 

But today, their momma was going to take them and their best friend to the woods for exploring!!

 

Their momma stopped the car before turning to face Frisk. “Now, dear, remember what I told you?”

 

Frisk did. Momma was going to follow them through the woods, and Frisk was to stay in her range of sight at all times. If their momma couldn’t see them, then she would call out for them and they were to come back to her side. They didn’t have to worry about going where they couldn’t see their momma, as her eyesight was stronger than theirs, by virtue of being a mom.

 

“Alright, darling. You may now explore.”

 

Their momma had barely finished speaking before Frisk was out of their seat, taking their friend in their hand and dragging them off into the woods. They ran around laughing, poking bushes and climbing trees and rocks and whatever caught their eye, all the while keeping an ear out for their momma. 

 

Soon, Frisk discovered a cool cave! They DEFINITELY wanted to enter it, but would Momma let them..?

 

Frisk looked back. They didn’t see their momma anywhere, but that was alright. If they did something bad, then Momma would let them know. They took one step towards the cave. Then another.

 

They held their best friend tight, the wooden stick comforting in their hand, and entered the cave.


	5. The Trees Are Screaming!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flowey goes back to his roots.

It was sunset, and Flowey was enjoying a quiet moment staring at the sky. The multitude of colors, so much more vivid than he had ever imagined underground… the fading warmth of the life-giving rays… the quiet solitude of him and nature, not a soul nearby…

 

And then the trees started screaming.

 

Flowey let out a shriek of his own, and then dived under the soil… before promptly pulling himself out. CREEPY BUGS EVERYWHERE!!!!!

 

Now, you might think that living in the dirt would get Flowey used to bugs. In fact, Flowey was fine with most insects! It’s just that running into a bunch of rather large bugs that are half the size of your face, when you have not encountered such bugs before, is a rather startling experience, not in the least helped by the surprise screaming which had prompted Flowey’s retreat to the earth in the first place.

 

At least with the fireworks last week, Flowey had (thought he had) known what was going on! The unknown wasn’t  _ nearly _ as much fun when you were no longer a bored flower with the ability to reset!

 

Flowey quickly started to uproot himself. If the soil was no longer an option, then he would make like a tumbleweed and- OH SWEET ANGEL THE BUGS WERE FLYING.

 

No  _ wonder _ the trees were screaming, with all these bugs flying about!

 

Flowey shuffled over to a nearby trunk and started wrapping himself around it. He had never heard trees scream before… but. What if...

 

“Howdy… ah, HOWDY!!” Flowey yelled to be heard over the screaming. “I’M FLOWEY! FLOWEY THE FLOWER! GOLLY, YOU MUST BE SUPER SCARED, SURROUNDED BY ALL THESE BUGS… DID YOU JUST WAKE UP?” There were so many humans on the surface, and they buried their dead. It wouldn’t be that far-fetched for the determination to sink into the soil, and get soaked up by the forest, right?

 

“IT’S OK… I WAS SCARED TOO, WHEN I AWOKE. I WAS ALL ALONE IN THE DARK, AND I COULDN’T FEEL MY ARMS OR LEGS! IT’S NOT DARK NOW, BUT WITH ALL THESE BUGS, IT’S REASONABLE TO BE SCARED.”

 

“BUT, DON’T WORRY! YOU’RE NOT ALONE! I DIDN’T HAVE  _ ANYONE _ WHEN I WOKE UP TO TELL ME HOW TO BE A PLANT, AND I WAS TEN AND SCARED, BUT I LEARNED! AND YOU WILL TOO, BECAUSE I’LL HELP YOU! IT MIGHT BE DIFFERENT, BEING A TREE INSTEAD OF A FLOWER, BUT I CAN SHOW YOU HOW TO MOVE YOUR ROOTS, AND USE VINES TO HOLD THINGS, AND… YOU WON’T BE THE ONLY SOULLESS PLANT, I PROMISE! IT’LL BE OK! YOU’RE NOT ALONE! I’M HERE! I CAME! YOU’RE CALLING FOR HELP, BUT I’M HERE!” 

 

Flowey tried to blink the dew out of his eyes. Could the tree even hear him? They were so tall, and he was so small, and the bark was probably too rough for them to feel him. He narrowed his eyes in determination. He would just have to climb, then!

 

Flowey looped a vine around a nearby branch, and started working his way upwards.

 

“HEY! DOWN HERE! MY NAME’S FLOWEY, I CAN HELP YOU! IT’S O-  _ YAA!!! _ ” Flowey shrieked as a bug buzzed past him. What the hell even  _ were _ those things, they were huge! Way bigger than bees, and with a louder buzz to… match...

 

Oh.

 

Flowey gripped the trunk of the tree tighter.

 

It was the  _ bugs _ making that noise.

 

Well, it was probably time to make his way home anyways. He had better things to do than hug a tree like an idiot! Maybe he could hang out with Papyrus; the skeleton was good at temporarily filling that hollowness that being ( _ the only _ ) a soulless plant brought on.

 

Maybe he and Papyrus could incorporate some bugs into that plan they were working on.


	6. Sand Castle Competition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang holds a sand castle competition.

The results were in.

 

Flowey’s sand castle was exactly that: a castle. More specifically, his father’s castle from back in the underground, although on a much smaller scale. Still, the castle was big enough that Flowey could fit comfortably in the main “doorway” with room to spare.

 

Unfortunately, he had to be disqualified on the grounds that “using roots to hold the sand in place is an unfair advantage,” an opinion which he refused to stop complaining about until Papyrus promised that he would split  _ his _ winnings with Flowey.

 

Sans had built… a lump. And then written his name on it with a stick. The only reason Toriel didn’t give it a 4 like the other two judges was because Sans had called it a “lump of  _ sans" _ and she couldn’t resist a bad pun, so she added 2 points. Final score: 14.

 

Papyrus had gone all out and made a sand sculpture of himself! Unfortunately, before any of the judges could see it, a certain rather annoying canine had taken a big bite of one of the sand-femurs, resulting in a total collapse. That didn’t stop Monster Kid from trying to give him a 10, but Papyrus accepted his disqualification with dignity.

 

(Flowey didn’t. Flowey refused to let Papyrus accept that everything he worked so hard on would be ruined by that awful beast. Papyrus knew from experience though that trying to get his stuff back or even  _ punish _ the dog was a lesson in futility. At least the dog no longer destroyed  _ everything _ he was proud of… Papyrus decided to take Flowey with him to a nearby Nice Cream stand. Maybe the frozen treat would heal the weird achy feeling that just showed up all of a sudden in his soul for absolutely no reason whatsoever?)

 

Undyne, in a completely predictable move, tried to build an “AWESOME GIANT ROBOT!!!” It fell over, but Undyne never gives up!!! ...Unless she decides she’s going to go help her girlfriend.

 

However, even if Alphys needed help, Undyne wouldn’t have been able to help her, since Alphys’ sand sculpture was made out of  _ glass. _ More specifically, it was made out of sand until Alphys used her electricity magic to turn it  _ into _ glass. Sadly, this argument did not seem to sway the judges, and Alphys was disqualified.

 

The judges then had to take a brief break from judging due to being suplexed by an angry fish.

 

Mettaton had somehow been able to make a life-sized sculpture of himself. Unfortunately, he had posed it in such a way that Toriel disqualified him for inappropriateness.

 

_ (“HEY UNDYNE, WHO’S WINNING?”) _

 

_ (“...You know, I think it’s actually Sans???”) _

 

_ (“The trashbag? How’d he manage THAT?”) _

 

_ (“FLOWEY!”) _

 

Finally, the judges got to the last contestant, Frisk. 

 

Using all their determination, Frisk had made…  [ a humble sandcastle. ](https://www.livingnorth.com/sites/default/files/styles/top_image/public/images/features/top/Screen%20Shot%202017-05-30%20at%2010.53.51.png?itok=bM3fcVEf) As the judges watched, Frisk set aside their patterned bucket and took out a little twig with a leaf stuck on it. They gently stuck the twig in the middle of the sand lump, and looked up.

 

“What a wonderful sand castle, my child!” Toriel exclaimed, biased. She gave Frisk “a perfect ten!” in a perfect demonstration of why mothers shouldn’t judge for contests that their kids have entered.

 

_ (“...FLOWEY, I DO BELIEVE WE SHOULD POSTPONE THAT THING WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THE OTHER DAY. IT NEEDS MORE PLANNING.”) _

 

Asgore gave Frisk a 6, glanced at Toriel, and hurriedly changed it to a 9. Clearly, exes should not be on the same judging panel.

 

_ (“You know what? I think you’re right!”) _

 

Monster Kid held up a 6 with his teeth, but he needn’t have bothered- the two scores from the boss monsters were enough to boost Frisk above the only other contestant who hadn’t been disqualified.

 

And thus, Frisk won the sandcastle competition.


End file.
